Runaway Boar
by Soul Raider 116
Summary: Realizing that someone you love doesn't return your feelings is hard. Kagura thinks Kyou is in love with Tohru, and heartbroken runs away. But what does Kyou really feel?
1. Runaway Boar

**Disclaimer: **_This story doesn't follow the Manga, so no flames saying it should. It basically picks up where the Anime left off. By the way, I am not the creator of the Fruits Basket Series._

Chapter 1: Runaway Boar

Sitting alone on the peak of a hill near her family's estate a young girl fiddled with a stray strand of her hair. There was a large stone beside her, a crater worn into it by years of rain and wind had filled with water during a recent summer shower. Letting out a sigh the girl examined her reflection in the puddle. She knew she wasn't necessarily beautiful, certainly not as cute as Miss Tohru Honda, the girl she felt certain had stolen the heart of her beloved Kyou. Kagura didn't consider herself ugly by any means, but surely there must be something wrong with her. Why else would Kyou refuse to love her? Why would the one man she had devoted her entire life too continually reject her?

It had to be Tohru; she was the one possible answer. Kagura knew the man she loved well enough to know that since Tohru had come into his life, he had changed. He wasn't as bad tempered as he used to be, yes he still had his moments, he erupted frequently despite everything, but it was; believe it or not, better than it had been in the past.

She sighed as she thought of their childhood. Perhaps, if she could just tell him about how things used to be, why she loved him so, then he could love her back. The boar knew; however, that her beloved feline friend would never believe her.

She watched as her cousins and Tohru walked away from the estate. It seemed that even after what had transpired Akito hadn't had Tohru's memories erased. Tohru Honda, the only person outside the family to know about their secret and be allowed to remember them. Tohru Honda, her rival in love, and one of her best friends in spite of it.

That night when Tohru had discovered Kyou's true nature, Kagura had decided something. She thought about it again, as she saw how excited Kyou was to see Tohru exiting Akito's abode. Tohru was best for Kyou. The angst ridden orange haired boy would never love Kagura anyhow, so why continue chasing a distant dream? She wasn't sure her beloved cousin even liked her.

Tears trickled down Kagura's cheeks. She hated giving up like this, but Tohru made him so happy! How could the boar justify taking that away from? If you truly love someone, then you want them to be happy, no matter how much it might hurt you. The girl turned back to the puddle in the stone, her tears falling to the shallow water's surface and sending ripples out from where they landed. Her eyes were puffed and blood shot from crying, she'd been doing a lot of that since she had come to her conclusion. Now the only question was: what was left? She had devoted so much of her life, her entire heart and a large portion of her soul to Kyou, without him, what was left for her?

In the distance she could hear them talking, Kyou and Yuki planning to fight, Hatori and Shigure babbling something about the future. What a laugh that was now, to think about the future, without Kyou in her life, there was no future. Every time she had thought about the future for as long as she could remember, Kyou had been in it. She had dreamed that someday he would come around, that he would just suddenly wake up with the realization that he truly loved her. It didn't seem that far fetched to her. He was the cat, after all, and she was one of the few in the family to admit to caring for him. She loved him no matter what form he took, and she too was cursed, so they could even embrace without fear of transforming.

Then Tohru had come, someone outside the family, who accepted them all for what they were, someone who could care for Kyou, despite the curse. This girl had in one instant destroyed Kagura's dreams and fulfilled Kyou's. Kyou Souma, all he wanted was someone who would care for him even if they feared his true form. No, she needed to rephrase that, all Kyou wanted was someone beside Kagura who cared for him even if she feared his true form. Anyone but Kagura was exactly what he needed. Tohru was what he needed, and Kagura knew it, and she hated it.

The girl felt terrible for even thinking it, but she hated Tohru for capturing Kyou. Tohru hadn't even meant to do it. Kyou couldn't help loving Tohru anymore than Kagura could help her feelings for Kyou. There was nothing to be done.

Kagura climbed to her feet, casting one final gaze in the direction that Kyou and the others were going in. She began to walk, no destination in mind, just walking down the hill, tears streaming from her eyes. Soon she was running, running as fast as she could away from the world that had hurt her so much, away from the people who mattered most to her in the world.

_Ok, I know this chapter was a little short. In honest I was going to make this a one shot about how Kagura felt on the whole Kyou/Tohru situation, but I figured I'd turn it into a Kyou/Kagura, since I'm not really that big of a Kyou/Tohru fan. Or maybe it won't end up Kyou/Kagura, not sure yet. We'll see. I might not even finish it if I don't get some good reviews._


	2. Missing Piggy

**Disclaimer**_Fruits Basket is not my creation. And my stories don't tend to follow what actually happens in the Manga, as I live in my own disillusioned little world._

Chapter 2: Missing Piggy

The next couple of days at Shigure's residence were as normal as they ever got. Kyou and Yuki fought, Tohru cooked and cleaned and prayed for the boys to stop fighting, Shigure obsessed over high school girls, occasionally someone was transformed by sheer accident into an animal, and all of them were just relieved that Tohru had been allowed to keep her memories. So yeah, all of them were living as normally as possible, until two days after the meeting between Akito and Tohru, when Yuki answered the phone to some rather disturbing news.

"What do you mean she's missing? Yes. I'll let them know. Right, if we can help at all, we will." Yuki hung up the phone and turned around in a daze.

Tohru stood there, having just entered from the kitchen. "Yuki? Is everything alright? Did I hear you say someone was…missing? Did Kisa run away again!"

"No. Not Kisa," Yuki said softly, still not quite believing what he had just been told, "Kagura."

"Kagura!" His friend shouted in surprise, "But...why? Where could she be! Oh Yuki! You don't think something bad has happened to her, do you!"

"I hope not, Miss Honda. But we can't be sure; she's not the type to just run away." Yuki sighed as he looked at the phone, "Hatori is putting together a search party, I should go to the main estate to see if I can help at all."

But by the time he looked up again, Tohru already had a spring jacket on, and had his in her hand, "I'm coming too. Kagura's my friend after all, if she's in some sort of danger I want to help if I can."

Yuki took his coat as he opened the door "Hatori is gathering mostly Souma's who know about the curse. There aren't many but it's too risky to call in the police, in case they see something they shouldn't."

"What the hell's going on?" Kyou was standing outside the door, his arms folded across his chest, a sweatshirt draped over the frame of his body, "Why is Hatori getting a search party together?"

"Kagura's missing." Answered the young brunette girl, her voice full of worry.

"What? Where the hell is she!" The cat snapped in disbelief.

"If we knew that, she wouldn't be missing," Yuki commented icily before turning back to Tohru, "Miss Honda, I really would rather you stayed here. If some sort of harm did befall Kagura, I wouldn't want you in harm's way."

Tohru nodded in silence. She wanted to help, but if Yuki was so concerned for her, she really should stay behind. She walked back into the house and took off her jacket.

Yuki waited for Tohru to close the door behind her before turning to leave for the main house. When he turned to go, he found that Kyou was gone. Yuki's best guess was that the cat had retreated to his rooftop. He knew his cousin was probably concerned for Kagura, but knowing Kyou, he would never admit it.

Yuki's guess wasn't very accurate however. Kyou was already on his way to the main estate. His heart was pounding, due to worry and the fast pace he was keeping. He was scared at the thought something might have happened to Kagura. Very few people had ever cared for him, at least openly. Kagura was one of those few, she had always been there. Granted, her love was obsessive, and usually quite painful, but it didn't change the fact that she had always cared.

His feet pounded the concrete as he raced towards the place the search party would be meeting. Shigure had left yesterday to go to the main house; Kyou couldn't help thinking he should have known then that something was up. They had, after all, just returned from the main house the day before that, Shigure should have had no reason to go back so soon.

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Kagura sat under a tree, leaning against the trunk, her knees pulled up to her chest. She never intended to run away, but once she had started running, she just couldn't stop. She sighed sadly and hugged her knees closer to her; the girl was alone, rejected, and to be perfectly honest, lost. While running she had zoned out so completely that she now had no idea where she was.

Tall trees surrounded her, and she knew she was in the woods somewhere. She could hear squirrels chattering away up in the trees. Two or three wild boars had come to comfort her, though she really found no comfort in their presence. She had no idea that the Souma's had launched a search, albeit a diminutive one. Nor did she know that Kyou, upon hearing her plight, had raced to try and find her.

That information alone, had she known it, may have convinced her that she should try to find her way back. But she remained oblivious to that fact, and continued to wallow in self doubt.

_Again, I know it's short, but this story is growing very slowly. I'm still not even sure what I want the out come to be, normally I know that much before I start, and sometimes the story evolves to a point where I loose track of my goal. But now I'm rambling. Point is, the chapters might be short for now, and it may take a little while for my next update._

**Lil-Sun-Rie:** Soon enough? Lol! I had this chappie written, I just didn't want to post till I got some reviews!

**JovianSheWolf**: Kagura/Kyou is soooo Kawaii! Like I said though, not sure yet what the outcome will be!

**Lucinda the Maid**: Thank you for the compliments! Because of where the Anime left off, I just find it easier to write based off that instead of the manga, plus I've only read up too 7 in the manga. Sorry about the grammar mistakes. I'm usually pretty big on grammar myself, but I never seem to be able to get the mistakes out of my own writing! Curses.

**Haruko Sohma**: Cha, it was pretty rude of them not to even consider what was running through Kagura's head in the manga! I mean, poor girl! Maybe this ends up Kyou Kagura, maybe not, who knows.


	3. Swine Search

**Disclaimer: _I do not own Fruits Basket. Also, I do not follow the Manga, as I find it much easier to elaborate on the Anime._**

Chapter 3: Swine Search

Yuki was quite surprised to find that when he arrived at the main estate Kyou was already there. He knew the cat would be concerned, but he had never expected him to join in the search.

Kyou was seething at the group of Souma's which surrounded him. They were organizing the search, dividing into teams and deciding what areas to cover, but Kyou didn't have the patience for that. He wanted to get going. What if something had happened to Kagura? What if because of all this dawdling they were too late to save her from some ghastly fate? The cat crossed his arms and growled under his breath, earning him glances from the surrounding Soumas.

In the group preparing to search for the missing boar were Shigure, Hatori, Ayame and Haru, as well as several Souma men who knew about the curse for one reason or another. Everyone was startled to see that Ritsu had also shown up to search, but had offered, after apologizing profusely for not arriving sooner, to stay at the estate in case she returned. This was also the choice Ayame had made, rather than mess up his stylish outfit trekking through the forest. Momiji had gone to Shigure's house to stay with Tohru, knowing how worried she would be, and had been given instructions to call should Kagura show up at the novelist's abode.

So the search was ready to begin, and would as soon as it could be decided how the searchers were to be divided. Haru had eagerly volunteered to be in the same group with Yuki, Shigure and Hatori were each put in charge of a search team. As the rest of the group split up to fill in the three groups, no one seemed to notice that none of the groups contained Kyou. He had already taken off to search on his own, his patience for the group having crumbled.

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Kyou made his way out of the perimeters of the main estate, and looked around. There was a hill nearby, and he thought that maybe from there he could get a bearing on where she might have gone. It wasn't hard to climb the hill; it was only tall enough that you could barely see inside the compound. There was a rock there, and Kyou took moment to sit on it and gather his thoughts.

He wasn't one for taking time to strategize, mostly the cat just rushed in without thinking when he was doing something, but this time, he had to stop and think. Where could Kagura have gone? Why could she have run away, if that's what she did? Kyou let out a growl of frustration when he found he did not have the answers he wanted. His fist connected with the rock he was sitting on, and s trickle of blood escaped as his knuckle split. He didn't care though, it didn't hurt.

The boy turned his head to the side, and it just so happened that his gaze landed on a boot print that had been left in a dried out pool of mud. Kyou stood, he didn't know that it was a print from Kagura's boot, and it was a small, isolated piece of evidence, but for the moment, it was all he had to go on. The orange headed boy walked to the print, crouching beside it as he desperately tried to remember what Kagura's boots looked like. Nothing, he had never paid much attention to her, and never thought he would need to remember how her shoes were maid.

Straightening himself out he headed in the direction the footprint was facing. He had no way of knowing for sure if this was the direction whoever made the print had gone, but it was worth a try, and at this point it was his only hope. His feet pounded the ground as he took of, desperate to find her.

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Kagura's stomach growled. She had been lost for nearly three days, and had forgotten until now that in that time she hadn't eaten. The girl climbed to her feet, she needed something to eat. With a deep sigh and another loud gurgle from her belly, she began to walk, searching for anything that could pass as food.

She walked quite awhile and eventually spotted a strawberry plant that had sprouted up in the woods. She reached out and began to gather some that looked like they might be ripe, not that she knew much about plants at all. The sleeve of her dress caught on a thorn and tore, leaving a small scrap of fabric behind.

"Shoot." Kagura murmured looking at the ripped sleeve, oh well, at least now she had some food, although it wasn't much. A handful of barely ripe strawberries hardly qualified a meal. Turning away from the bush she walked to a nearby tree and sat leaning against it, popping one of the berries into her mouth.

They were bitter, definitely not ready to be eaten yet, but they were all she had found as of now. If she hadn't run away on impulse like that, she could be having a nice warm meal. Or at least she could have packed some food to bring with her.

She finished the strawberries then sighed as her stomach begged for more food. The brunette decided to continue walking, hoping perhaps she could find more food.

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Meanwhile Yuki and Haru were searching on the opposite side of the compound. Haru was looking around and suddenly noticed that someone was missing besides Kagura, "Hey, Yuki…did you happen to notice Kyou disappeared?"

"So he did, Haru. That stupid cat must have gone off on his own. I didn't realize he was that attached to Kagura." Yuki paused and looked at his bovine companion.

"Do you think he actually cares about her? I mean, the same way she feels for him." Haru ran a hand through his white and black locks as he thought about that.

"Who knows." Yuki went back to looking around for any sign of their missing cousin, now cousins, but there was no hint of either of them.

_Ok, another chapter down. What do ya think? Kagura and Kyou are gonna hafta meet up in the woods soon, I can't keep up this just missing each other stuff!_

**Prettypinkpeacock**: I know, the chaps are too short, sorry. I think this one will end up Kyou/Kagura, Yay!

**Lucinda** **The** **Maid**: Thank you. Of course Kyou cares for Kagura. Whether or not you're a Kyou/Kagura fan you have to admit that! I'm thinking once I finish one of the fics I'm working on, I'll do one where Kyou gets jealous.

**Promise** **Keeper**: OMG! XD I like that exchange too! It's just so classic! And of course you can host it on your site. I recommend all Kyou/Kagura lovers to go to your site!

**Darkblinds**: Hmmm….Kagura becoming a model to win over Kyou….what an awesome idea…not for this story, but maybe in the future….

**Haruko** **Sohma**: Of course Kyou cares! The question is…how much does he care? And I refuse to believe that he won't end up with Kagura in the end! -in denial- Tohru and Yuki, Kyou and Kagura…or Uo…I can see a Kyou/Uo pairing too. But Kyou/Kagura is better.

**JovianShe**-**wolf**: Good question…what about Akito? Hmmm…I hadn't thought of that. Ok, Poll time, what should happen between Akito and Kagura due to her running away, I'm sure he shall want to punish her.


	4. Lost and Found

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Fruits Basket, and I do not follow the Manga._

Chapter 4: Lost and Found

Kyou was searching for Kagura, he still hadn't found her, but he had the feeling he was on the right track. His feelings were confirmed when he spotted a nearby strawberry plant with a scrap of fabric attached, "Looks like this came from something that Kagura might wear."

He snatched the fabric from the plant and stuck it in his pocket. Hopefully this wasn't a sign that there had been a struggle. There weren't any broken branches or any other sign of a struggle. So she had probably just stopped to gather up some berries. She must be starving having been gone for so long.

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Kagura hadn't walked too much further in her search for food. She was now curled up under a tree, shivering slightly as she slept. Her stomach growled again, there was a stream running past this tree and it was full of fish, but she had no means to catch them. She had decided that sleep would take her mind off her hunger, and that after a nap she would wade her way across the stream, and continue to search for food.

The scenery was beautiful, but she hadn't taken the time to notice. The stream trickled past; its crystal waters tumbled around rocks. Trees were thick on the edge of a small clearing on the water's bank, and there leaves fluttered in the breeze, as did the grass of the clearing. The sky was glowing with the colors of twilight, and the temperature was dropping slightly as the warmth of the sun began to sink into the horizon.

The boars which had been comforting her had dispersed, and she was completely alone, or so she thought. The girl had no idea that a certain orange haired adolescent was hot in her trail.

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Kyou heard the sound of running water, he was getting thirsty, but wasn't willing yet to pause for a drink. He was walking past the spot where the water passed closest to his path, when he thought he noticed the sound of a soft whimper. He froze as he tried to focus on that sound, which way was it coming from? He called out to try and get the attention of his cousin; he knew it had to be her, "Kagura?"

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Kagura opened her eyes. Sitting up and stretching, she looked around. Had she heard someone calling her name? It couldn't have been, she must have been dreaming. She sighed and leaned back against the tree, closing her eyes once again.

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The cat heard a sigh. It was close, on the water side, right on the other side of the row of trees he is walking past. He ran the short distance to the clearing at the water's edge, and there beneath the tree, eyes closed, was Kagura.

His eyes widened, there she was. Was she breathing? God, let her be breathing, he thought as he approached her, "Kagura!"

The brown haired girl opened her eyes and looked at him in surprise, "K-Kyou? What are you doing here?"

"Well that's a stupid question. I came looking for you. You have the family worried sick." Kyou crossed his arms and tried to act like he wasn't really concerned.

Kagura blinked up at him, a little surprised, but glad that he cared enough to look for her. Then she remembered the way that he acted around Tohru. It was obvious to anyone who paid attention how he felt for the girl who had come to know the family's secret. As she turned her head away, her eyes threatened again to fill up with tears.

"What the hell is wrong now? I came to take you home! You don't have to be lost out here anymore!" Kyou looked at her, a little confused by the fact that she didn't seem to want to see him? Since when did Kagura not want to be around him, painfully declaring her love?

"Oh, gee…" Kagura felt terribly guilty for making people worry. But she couldn't go back, she wasn't ready to deal with Kyou and Tohru yet, "I…I don't think I'm going back…"

"What? Why not? Are you hurt? Don't you think you'll be able to walk?" Kyou stepped towards her and looked her over for any obvious sign of injury.

Kagura continued to avoid his gaze, her tone bland as she spoke, "I just don't want to go back yet. I'm fine. Sorry if I worried you."

"Who said I was worried? You can't stay here, though. You don't have food or anything." Kyou sat beside her, still trying to figure out what was wrong, and why she wouldn't look at him.

"Well…I can't go back. There really isn't a reason to, now is there?" She wrapped her arms around herself as a breeze sent a slight chill up her spine.

"What?" Kyou had thought he was her reason for, well, for everything. He noticed her shivering and pulled of his own sweatshirt, handing it too her. He had a t-shirt on underneath, and could resist the cold fairly well anyway.

Kagura took the sweatshirt, but didn't put it on, she didn't answer him either. She was trying very hard not to let herself cry. Just being around him and knowing she couldn't have him was too painful to bear.

Kyou sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Ok fine, I admit…I was a little worried. There, better?"

"Just head back to Shigure's house, tell them all I'm fine, and leave me alone…" Her voice cracked on the word 'alone', "I'm sure Tohru's worried about you, staying out so late."

"First, everyone's out late. We're all looking for you. Second, Tohru's more worried about you, she'd be out her looking too if Yuki hadn't stopped her cuz he thought you got kidnapped. And third, what does Tohru even have to do with any of this?" Kyou questioned his friend, who was on the verge of tears.

"Everything!" Kagura said, finally sobbing, unable to hold it back any longer, "S-sometimes I just…I j-just…" But she couldn't speak through the tears.

Kyou blinked in concern. Tohru had upset Kagura, but the dense cat still didn't understand what his friend had done to hurt the boar. He put an arm hesitantly around the girl, trying to get her to stop crying, "Oh…come on now! Don't cry! Geeze!"

But Kagura didn't stop. She continued to sob, her face buried in her love's shirt.

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Momiji sat on the couch in Shigure's house, watching as Tohru paced. From the window, to the wall, then back to the window, where she would pause and look out, searching for any signs that Kagura was on her way, or that the search was over, and her friends returning. The blond little boy put his hands behind his head as he spoke, "You know why I think she left?"

Tohru stopped and looked at the rabbit, shaking her head as she sat beside him on the couch, "N-no. Why do you think she left Momiji?"

"I think she's jealous." Momiji said as he hopped off the couch and made his way to the window, gazing out at the painted horizon.

"Jealous? Why?" Tohru asked as she folded her hands in her lap and looked at the little German boy.

"Well, I don't want to make you feel guilty, but I think she's jealous of you. You know Kagura's had her heart set on Kyou. When she sees you and him together, getting so close, I guess she must figure that he likes you the way she wants him to feel about her. I mean, just imagine, watching the one person you've loved most for so long drift away and fall for another person. It can't feel good. When they find her, I think you two need to have a talk." He turned to face her, and saw her eyes were full of tears, "I'm sorry, Tohru! I didn't mean to make you cry!"

Tohru shook her head and stood, "N-no…it's ok. You're right though! Poor Kagura! She must feel terrible if that's what she thinks!" Tears streamed from the emotional girl's eyes, "I promise I'll talk with her as soon as I can!"

"Good," Momiji said with a small smile, "I'm sure that will make everyone feel better." He skipped over to Tohru and gave her a hug to make her feel better, poofing himself into a rabbit in the process. Tohru held the bunny in her arms and continued to cry softly, "Don't cry Tohru…"

"O-ok…I'll try n-not too."

_Another chapter done, since I received a few nice comments on the conversation Yuki and Haru had; I decided to add another one, this time, obviously, between Tohru and Momiji. If there are any other characters whose thoughts you would like to see on the issue, don't hesitate to ask. Oh, and I apologize if any of them seemed OOC. I thought the conversation between Tohru and Momiji worked, because Momiji is good at seeing what other people feel. He just closes his eyes and can imagine what anyone is going through. On the other hand, I wasn't sure because I didn't know if I could see him saying something that would so obviously make Tohru feel guilty. Anyways, there's my commentary to prevent flames. Lol._

**Promise** **Keeper**: Thank you. I'm glad you like the story. I must say, you're review style is refreshing. I love the way you point out you're fav thing about each chappie! It makes me feel good about myself, and my writing.

**Lucinda** **the** **Maid**: Good point on the Akito thing, And sorry if my grammatical errors confused you. Usually I'm a grammar freak, but just about sentence structure. Homophones get me all the time, cuz the spell check doesn't catch them, and I'm always doing this stuff late at night, so I don't catch it either, cuz I have a very limited time to work in.

**Baka** **Neko**: Thanks for the compliment. I like your name! A Kyou fan obviously, Or else a fan of Yuki being mean to Kyou lol!

**Oz**: I can't believe you've never seen a story on this pairing before! I'll admit, compared to Kyou/Tohru they're rare, but they do exist. In fact, visit this site: http/www.nekoino. it's a Kyou/Kagura site, and there's tons of fics.

**NightBlue**: Thank you. I tried to keep it reasonable. I've never read that book, but I think I heard part of it read at a forensics (speech and debate) tournament when I was in high school. I'll have to check it out sometime. King's a great author, even though I've only read The Green Mile so far.

**Haruko** **Sohma**: See, I've only read to book 7, so I haven't met Kureno yet. And it's not like I was saying I liked Kyou/Uo better than Kyou/Kagura. Kyou/Kagura is way better. I can just see Kyou/Uo happening too, it would be cute.

_P.S. If any of you are also fans of my story And Now I Cannot Touch You, I don't know when I'll be able to update. I'm completely blank._


	5. Your Hands

**Disclaimer: **_Fruits Basket is not my original idea. This story is not based on the manga._

Chapter 5: Your Hands

Kyou continued to hold Kagura as she cried. It had been so long since he had been willing to just stay with her like this. In fact, Kyou could hardly remember a time when they had been able to be near one another without it ending very painfully for him. He still didn't know what Tohru had done to Kagura, but as the boar began to calm down, she pulled out of his arms and stood, crossing her arms over her chest and walking towards the water.

"Kyou…" She whispered softly, in a voice hoarse from sobbing, "I…I want so much to make you happy…"

"Then head back home. People are worried about you." Kyou looked up at her from where he sat; braced to attempt escape should she decide to kill him.

Kagura shook her head, and felt the tears threatening to well up again, "I can't Kyou! I can't go back there! I-I can't face it…"

"Face what? C'mon, tell me!" When Kagura didn't respond Kyou growled at her, "You claim to love me so much! If that's the case, you could at least take the time to talk to me!"

"Why?" Kagura muttered picking up a stone and tossing it into the water, scattering the fish, "It doesn't matter. No matter what I do, I can't make you love me."

"Are you saying you ran away because of me?" Kyou's tone was a little harsher than he intended, but whenever he was feeling bad about something, it caused him to snap instead of acting the way he should.

"No…yes…I don't know!" Kagura nearly burst into tears again, but managed well to hold it in, "Just go back to Shigure's, and be as happy as you can there."

"Not unless you come with me." The cat replied standing his ground, "I mean, do you honestly think I can be happy if I'm the reason you ran away?"

Kagura turned again to face him, sighing softly and wiping a stray tear from her face, "Kyou…"

"Just come back with me already! We can work out whatever you're issues are when you get there, ok?" Kyou walked up to her and held out his hand, "C'mon. Before it gets any later."

Kagura blinked and focused on his hand. An image flashed through her head. Much younger versions of herself and Kyou, him holding his hand out to her, and voice, clearly remembered, echoed in her mind. _C'mon Kagura!_

Here she was again, years after that fateful day when she first knew she loved him, and once again he had offered her his hand. Tears in her eyes she hesitantly reached towards his outstretched grasp. He closed his fingers around her hand and began walking the same way he had come, leading her to the main estate.

They walked in silence, and as they approached the compound, Kyou thought about the searchers who would come running back upon news of her reappearance. He looked at Kagura; she was in no shape to handle the stress of such a large group of concerned people. Tugging at her hand he pulled her in the direction of Shigure's abode. Kagura's silent stare had remained focused on the ground in front of her.

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Tohru was asleep on the couch, despite her best efforts to remain vigilant, when suddenly she heard an outburst from the blond at the window, "Tohru! Tohru! It's Kyou and Kagura! They're back!"

Tohru was on her feet before the rabbit even had a chance to finish his sentence, rushing to the door. She threw the door open as she cried out to her two friends, "You're back! I was so worried! Thank god!"

As the younger girl cam running out to meet them, Kagura was expecting her to embrace Kyou and continue her exclamation on how thrilled she was that he was safe. To her utter shock, it was herself who was wrapped in Tohru's arms. Kagura began to tremble in a mix of relief and rage. She was amongst friends, she was safe. But Tohru was hugging her! How dare Tohru embrace her after stealing Kyou away! Didn't this girl know how much it had hurt to watch her beloved become enamored of a person you considered a friend? Kagura pulled out of the hug, and looked at the ground once more.

Tohru was a little hurt, but tried not to let it faze her, "Oh Kagura! I'm so glad you're safe! I thought you'd been kidnapped, or worse! And I'm so very sorry that I upset you, I didn't even realize until Momiji brought up the possibility and..."

She stopped when she noticed Kagura giving her a slight glare. So, Tohru had realized that stealing Kyou away had caused Kagura a great deal of pain. The younger girl had known how the Souma felt about the orange haired boy, how could she have ever thought this wouldn't hurt! Kagura tightly clenched her eyes shut, trying to fight off tears and fury, "Tohru…."

"Kagura, please don't be angry! We need to talk." Tohru looked pleadingly at the girl.

"There's nothing to talk about! You win, ok? YOU WIN!" Kagura's shout caused the young girl before her to flinch.

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Kyou who had been standing there the whole time still trying to figure out what was going on blinked in surprise at the outburst. Kagura had never raised her voice like that at Tohru before. Usually even her anger at other people was taken out on him.

He was readying himself in case Kagura completely lost it when a blond head poked from the door, "Kyou! I think you need to come in and let them talk! Besides, I just called back to the main house! Ayame is gonna call Ha'ri, and Ha'ri will probably want to call and talk to you!"

Kyou warily backed away from the girls; still not sure it was safe leaving them alone. He would watch from the entrance, or a window, just in case. He walked into the house and Momiji looked at him, "what!"

"Well, what happened?" The bunny questioned.

"Nothing, she wouldn't even tell me why she left!" Kyou watched from the window warily as Tohru spoke, he couldn't hear her words though.

"You haven't figured it out yet?" Momiji said in disbelief.

"No, I haven't, so why don't you clue me in if you're so smart, brat?" The cat snapped back bopping Momiji on the head.

"Ow! Not if you're so mean to me!" The blond pouted and crossed his arms.

"Just spill it!" Kyou hissed out menacingly.

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you! But you really should know. It's kinda obvious!" Momiji stopped his little rant on how Kyou shouldn't need an explanation at a harsh glare from the older boy, "Kagura's jealous! She thinks you're in love with Tohru!"

"She thinks I'm what?" The orange haired boy said with a slight blush.

"In love with Tohru!" The rabbit repeated, "So now the only question is…are you?"

Kyou shook his head, "No! I mean, I'm not really…I like her, of course, she's accepted me, but LOVE? I…I don't know…"

The feline had never really thought too seriously about the question of love. Did he love Tohru? Maybe he did, or maybe he simply enjoyed her company. Then he thought about Kagura, and how she had run away out of jealousy, it was ridiculous. Then he remembered what she had said at the stream…she wanted to make him happy. Had she thought that in running away he could be with Tohru? Had Kagura run away for him instead of from him?

Out of the blue a new thought struck him, one he really never had had before, one he was shocked could even find its way into his head. What exactly did he feel for Kagura? She was his cousin, he knew that. She was his friend, he supposed. But was friendship all that had compelled him to run after her? Was it possible it was something more?

Momiji watched his orange headed cousin, who was rapidly becoming lost in thought, "After Tohru and Kagura are done talking…I think you need to talk to each of them, separately of course."

Kyou snapped out of his thoughts and focused on the boy, "I guess you're right for once, brat."

Momiji nodded, "If I were you…I'd start with Tohru. You know how Kagura feels, so find out how Tohru feels."

The phone began to ring and Momiji hopped off to answer it, calling out to let Kyou know it was Hatori wanting to talk to him. Kyou went and grabbed the receiver from Momiji.

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"Kagura," Tohru said pleadingly, as Kyou disappeared into the house leaving the girls alone, "I…I don't want you to be angry with me…please" Tohru's eyes were filling with tears, "If Kyou does have feelings for me, I never meant for it to happen! My mother always said that you should respect the feeling of other people, and so I would never have tried to win Kyou's heart knowing that you loved him so!"

"That's not the point!" Cried an equally emotional Kagura, "Either way, he loves you, and I can't have him! It hurts so much Tohru! I can't stand to even be near him! Or you!"

"I'm sorry I hurt you," Tohru said, a few tears falling down her cheeks, "I never wanted to hurt anyone! But please, h-have you even talked to him about this? D-do you know that's how he feels?"

Kagura shook her head and looked away, tears spilling from her eyes. It seemed foolish to jump to the conclusion she had without even asking, but still, "I don't have to ask him, I know. I can see it when he looks at you…"

"Oh Kagura…." Tohru was feeling more and more guilty, tears trickling down her face, "B-but…to be honest…as…as flattering as it is to have him feel that way…" Tohru hesitated, she didn't want to hurt Kyou either if he really cared about her, and what she was about to say was something that would hurt him terribly if she told him…but it would make Kagura happy, and it was the truth.

Kagura sighed and looked at Tohru. She wanted so badly to hate her, but she couldn't. She just couldn't bring herself to hate Tohru, this girl who was always so sweet to everyone, "What were you saying, Tohru…." She asked, curious about why Tohru had cut herself off.

"Oh…I…I was just going to say…I…I really don't feel that way…about Kyou, I mean…that's just awful to say…wasn't it, I mean, if he really cares so much about me…and…" Tohru covered her face with her hands, "I suppose I'll have to tell Kyou…"

"Tohru…I'm sorry I got so angry with you…I just…the thought of Kyou with someone else kills me! But I know that's how it will end up one way or another…" Kagura sighed, "He'll be crushed…you know that."

"I don't want to hurt him. I don't want to hurt anyone…" Tohru said looking at the ground.

"I know. But…he'll deal with it, I suppose."

"You could help him deal with it, then maybe he'll see how much you really care!" She forced a smile as she looked at the older girl.

"I can't. It wouldn't be fair for me to take advantage of the fact he's been hurt." Kagura sighed and walked towards the house, "you go talk to him. I'll wait on the porch; it's as out of the way as I can get at the moment."

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Kyou barely glanced over as Tohru entered the house; he was focused on his conversation with the Souma doctor, "I already told ya, she's fine. Right, she ran away. What does it matter why? Look, just don't worry about it, she's fine, and I'll just let her crash here for the night or whatever." He rolled his eyes and looked over at Tohru as he hung up the phone, "Damn nosey doctor."

Tohru gave him a weak smile, "He's just worried is all." She bit her lip and looked at the ground, "Umm, Kyou…we need to talk…"

"Yeah, we do." He said softly as his crimson eyes fell to the floor as well.

_Hahahah! Left ya hanging! How does the conversation between Kyou and Tohru go? Hmm…I hope you liked the Tohru Kagura discourse, I think it went pretty well. Again, I hope I kept everyone in character. I have a few spots where I'm not too sure myself if I did a good job, but good enough for now!_

**Promise** **Keeper**: I'm glad you liked the mini freak. I think that was one of my fav parts of that chappie too. And thanks for the reassurance about being IC.

**Lucinda** **the** **Maid**: Yay! More support of my ability to stay IC!

**Oz**: Thank Promise Keeper for the site, she made it. And as for most fics making Kagura evil, that's because they don't like her cuz they want Kyou to be with Tohru! But we Kyou/Kagura fans don't make Tohru Evil, do we? Kagura really does want what's best for Kyou, it's obvious in the last three shows, when she doesn't go after him, cuz she figures he needs Tohru then.

**Haruko** **Sohma**: More IC support! I love you guys! And I don't know if I really update every night, I've just been on a streak of good luck with sneaking onto the site at 3 AM! My daddy doesn't like me uploading or downloading things.


	6. Honest Hearts

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own FB, I do not guarantee that the characters will be IC at all times, though I will try my best to make them be, I do not guarantee good spelling or grammar._

Chapter 6: Honest Hearts

Kyou and Tohru made their way to the living room, both knowing they had serious matters to discuss. Tohru fidgeted nervously, she knew what others seemed to sense between herself and Kyou, and she was apprehensive about telling him how she truly felt and possibly breaking his heart, which had already been broken far to many times.

Momiji was sitting on the couch, a sucker in his mouth as he hummed softly to himself. At a stern glare from the cat he bounced out of the room to leave his two friends alone. He skipped out to the porch where he found a very sad looking Kagura. He sat beside her, and looked at her in silence, thinking over what to say to her, he didn't want to upset her more than she already was after all.

"Kagura…" He finally ventured in a soft voice, placing a hand on her shoulder carefully.

The boar turned to look at him, her eyes red from tears. She sniffled a little and wiped the remaining salt water from her face, "Oh. Hi, Momiji."

The blond haired youngster gave her a comforting smile as he removed his lollipop from his mouth. He pulled out an extra candy and offered it to her. His older cousin gave him a weak smile and took the sucker, twirling the stick between her fingers and staring at the colorful wrapper, but not removing it. Momiji shifted his position, bending his leg up to his chest, "I'm glad your back."

"Thanks. Sorry if I worried everyone." She wasn't really sorry at all. No one else mattered much if Kyou didn't care for her. And now she was sitting there, unable to help her love as she knew his heart must be getting broken.

"It's ok, I understand why you left." Momiji popped his sucker back in his mouth and leaned back on his elbows, "You know, Kyou was really worried though. Before I left the main estate to come here, he showed up demanding to know where you were, and why he hadn't been told sooner you were missing."

Kagura blinked and turned to face the young boy. Her tone carried disbelief, "He was really that worried?"

"Mmhmm." He nodded with a smile, "He really does care. After all, you're one of the few people who genuinely act like they care about him. He may not know why you love him, but he knows you do."

Kagura sighed and looked up at the stars, "I guess, but he still doesn't feel about me the way I feel about him."

Momiji shrugged and sat upright again, "I dunno if he knows what he feels."

The boar gave him a curious glance, but her cousin just laughed and smiled at her, "Oops, I probably shouldn't have said that. It's not my place to talk about it! You'll just have to ask Kyou!"

With that the hyper bunny bounced off of the porch and headed back towards the main estate.

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"Now, why can't we go back home?" Yuki questioned Shigure, his arms crossed in front of him.

"Yuki, Yuki, Yuki." Shigure shook his head and sighed, "Do you really not understand? Kyou and Kagura have problems of the heart to work through. It would be quite difficult to do so with an audience."

"I suppose." Yuki uncrossed his arms as he looked around at the dispersing family members, most heading to their own homes within the compound. He and Shigure were walking with Hatori to his abode, and unfortunately for Yuki, Ayame was tagging along.

"Ah, Yuki!" his brother bubbled whimsically, "Just imagine! Once Kyounkitchi and Kagura get their lover's quarrel settled, Tohru will be all yours to woo and win!"

The young rat blushed at the snakes ramblings. Shigure let out a muffled laugh and Hatori rolled his eyes. The dragon turned to face the brothers who walked behind him, "Oh, Yuki. Since you're here anyway, I may as well give you your checkup once we get to my home. You skipped it again."

This attempt to stop the quarrel between the brothers from beginning only succeeded in switching Aya's loud topic, "Oh tsk tsk, dear brother! Skipping your examination! Why, it's awful! Imagine if you had fallen into poor health because of it! I simply won't settle for my beloved brother being so irresponsible! Ha'ri! From now on, you must tell me when his appointments are to be scheduled! I shall personally make certain he attends!"

Yuki muttered to the doctor, "If I don't miss anymore checkups, will you keep this idiot away from me?"

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Kyou watched Momiji head out to the porch, and then sat on the couch where the bunny had been. Tohru took a seat beside him. There was an awkward silence as both tried to determine how to approach the delicate subject.

Kyou cleared his throat, "Umm...d-did you know why Kagura ran away?"

Tohru nodded slowly looking at the floor, "Yes. Well, not at first, but…I... Momiji explained."

"Yeah, he explained it to me too. So…" Kyou ran a hand through his orange hair, he still didn't know what he felt towards Tohru, or towards Kagura for that matter.

"Umm…Kyou…I…well…I know what Kagura thinks is going on, but…" She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but she didn't know how to keep from doing so, "I mean, you know I care about you. You'll always be one of my dearest friends, but…I just don't feel…_that way_ about you." Tohru bit her lip and waited for Kyou to get angry, but he never did, he just sat there in silence, "You…aren't upset?"

Kyou blinked, a little surprised that this hadn't hurt him, but it just seemed like he already knew they were just supposed to be friends, "Actually, no, I'm not."

Tohru blinked as well, then smiled at him, "So, you didn't feel that way either?"

"Guess I didn't…." The conversation was still awkward, but at least they had both discovered the truth about each other's feelings. There was once again a thick silence between them.

"We'd better let Kagura know." Tohru broke the silence softly, "She's still very upset."

"I'll talk to her." Kyou said with a sigh, as he got up and walked out to the porch. He looked around, Momiji was gone, and Kagura was sitting alone, twirling a brightly wrapped lollipop between her fingers. He walked over and sat cross-legged beside her, "Kagura."

She turned to face him, and blinked, surprised at the fact that he didn't seem upset after his talk with Tohru, "Yes, Kyou?"

_Master of the evil cliffy strikes again! Well, I'm sure this chapter was full of OOC stuff, sorry. I really do try my best though! The conversation between Kyou and Tohru didn't go as well as I had hoped, but I couldn't come up with a better one._

**Promise Keeper**: You're welcome XD! I must say, I liked Kyou's Hatori comment too! I love writing Kyou, that's why I RP as him quite often when I can. Him, and Kagura. Yuki's fun too though…-rambles on and on and on-

**Lucinda the Maid**: Hmmm, you liked the running for Kyou instead of from Kyou comment, ne? I liked that too, but then again, that's how my mind works. Yay! I found another character I do well! –Adds write Momiji centered Fic to her to do list-

**Haruko Sohma**: Hahahahah! Left ya hanging again! Thanks for the reassurance that I was IC. I think that somewhere in the back of her mind, Kagura really feels embittered towards Tohru, the same way you might feel about your best friend if he/she attracted the girl/guy you liked.

**Tsuki no Tenshi**: Well, yeah, of course! Unless I change my mind on the pairing –laughs evilly- of course, who else would I pair up at this point?

**Baka Neko**: Well, Momiji does seem to have some sort of sixth sense regarding people's feelings. (For example in the Kisa episode when he knows exactly what Kisa's feeling, or in the episode where he tells the story about the foolish traveler.) And I like KxK all the way! The sadistic part is what makes it fun! Her devotion to Kyou is so sweet! –Giggles-

**Prettypinkpeacock**: It's more bittersweet than sad…but that's just my opinion, lol. I like Kagura better than Tohru too, but Tohru's good in her own way.

**Nareda**: Yay! You love me, you really love me! I feel so talented now!

**JovianSheWolf**: sorry I took so long to update.


	7. Another Chance

**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own FB, and I do not follow the Manga. If I am OOC I apologize in advance._

Chapter 7: Another Chance

"Kagura, I…" Kyou huffed a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn't the best at being sentimental, he much preferred putting up a wall to defend himself against the world, "Look, I just wanted you to know…I was worried about you while you were gone, ok?"

"I know" The boar gave him a small smile then turned her focus back to the brightly wrapped candy she was still twirling between her fingers in an attempt to distract herself, "I'm…I'm really sorry about things with Tohru."

"Yeah well…" He muttered, not really sure what to say to that, "I've always known she preferred rat boy." He gave a shrug and looked up at the stars. He would love to just go to the roof and stay away from everyone, try and sort out how he was feeling, but right now it was more important to talk to Kagura, "Besides, she and I are better off as friends."

The older girl looked over at him again, trying to determine if he was sincerely ok with this, she had been so certain he loved about Tohru that sh had never even considered finding out their young friend didn't love him would crush him. Was Kyou just masking his true feelings?

"What are you looking at?" He quirked a brow and narrowed his eyes.

Kagura blinked and turned away, "Nothing, sorry. I just didn't think you'd take it so well. After all, you love her, don't you?"

Kyou once more found himself with no answer, longing for the safety of his roof, "I…she understands me, Kagura. I mean…she's there to listen when I need her. She saw my true form, and as terrified as she was, she came after me. Yeah, I care about her, a lot…but I don't know that it's love."

Kagura turned again to face him, confused by this information, "really?"

"Yeah, really. I mean, why would you think you could decide what I was feeling?" He rolled his crimson eyes and folded his arms behind his head.

"Sorry. But…I do know you better than anyone else! I've loved you most of my life! And I've never seen you act around anyone the way you act around her!" Kagura was near tears again in a mix of relief and shame.

"Yeah, well, she accepted me!" He was quickly becoming frustrated with her insistence on the fact that he had appeared to like Tohru.

"I accepted you!" the boar shouted, pressing her hands to her chest in emphasis.

"You tried to kill me!" The cat hollered back, his orange hair standing on end. Kagura blinked wide eyed at him and he sighed and shook his head calming down, "If you hadn't nearly beaten me to death everytime we saw each other…maybe…"

His cousin's grey eyes widened even more at the thought of what he might be saying, "Maybe…what?"

"Maybe…I kinda…wouldn't've minded so much…and…you know…" Kyou let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.

Kagura gave him a small smile, her eyes tearing up some "I know."

"Hey, don't you start crying on me again! I'm trying to apologize!" He jumped to his feet when he noticed the near tears.

"Kyou…I know. I'm sorry, I just…" She sighed, "I blew it, huh?"

Kyou shook his head, "Nah…I mean…you're not so bad…you…you actually care and all…and…well…if you promise to stop beating on me all the time…maybe we could…"

She smile brightly and wiped away the tears, climbing to her feet and hugging him tightly, "Oh, Kyou! Really?"

"Yeah…" He grumbled with a gasp, "But…too tight….Leggo…"

"Oops." Kagura smiled sheepishly as she loosened her grip, "Sorry. I'll try and so better."

"Good," Kyou grumbled and rolled his eyes as he slipped his own arms around her hesitantly, wondering what he'd gotten himself into.

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Tohru was sitting on the couch where she had been talking to Kyou when the phone rang. She hurried to answer it, "Hello?"

"Hello, Miss Honda," Came the soft spoken words from the other end of the line.

"Oh, Yuki!" Tohru smiled brightly at the sound of his voice, "You haven't started home yet?"

"No. Shigure insists we spend the night here to give you, Kagura and Kyou some time alone together. I was just calling to let you know."

A voice came from the background on Yuki's end of the line, "Oh, Yuuukiii! Dearest brother, you simply must let me talk to the young princess!"

"No," Yuki seethed quietly, "Now let go of the phone."

Tohru began to fret at the argument going on between the brothers, "Oh! No, Yuki, it's ok! I don't mind talking to Ayame!"

"You see! I know you want her all for yourself, little brother, but you must learn to share!" Aya beamed as he snatched the phone away, "Hello, Tohru!"

Tohru blushed softly at Aya's comment about Yuki wanting her for himself, any implication that her friend may feel that way about her made her blush, "Hello, Ayame."

Another voice called out from the background, "Tohru, make sure that Kyou and Kagura don't get too frisky!" was followed by a giggle that let the young girl know Shigure had been speaking.

Yuki could be heard in the background muttering, "Pervert."

Hatori's sigh was barely audible over the phone as he commented, "Would you all please stop being so ridiculous and just let Yuki talk to her."

There was a shuffling sound as the rat regained the phone, "Sorry about that, Miss Honda."

"Oh, it's ok!" She laughed softly, "I don't mind talking to everyone!"

"Yes, well…We should be back tomorrow. Shigure is going to stop in to see Akito, and let him know we found Kagura safe and sound, so we should be home late afternoon or early evening."

"Ok! See you then! Oh, did Momiji make it back ok?" The fact that the bunny hadn't come back inside after Kyou had ventured out to talk to Kagura let Tohru know he must have left.

"Yes, Momiji made it back, safe and sound." Yuki said with a nearly audible smile. The bouncing blond had arrived just shortly before the rat had made the call.

_One more chapter down. I hope it meets with your approval. What do you think, should I throw in a little of the Shigure Akito conversation next chappie? Again, this may or may not have been full of OOC, I apologize if it was. If it wasn't, then I'm sorry for being so uber paranoid! It may be a while before I can update, just to forewarn ya'll. _

**Promise Keeper:** Thanks! I loved that Yuki line too! And Aya does "bubble". It's the best way I can think of too describe him. I know the Kyou Tohru convo was short, but I really couldn't think of much too write for it, and I wanted to get the chappie up.

**Lucinda the Maid:** Yeah, yeah, I know the Kyou Tohru convo was short! (Read above statement) Sorry. I don't mean to sound snappish. It's 4:30 AM, I want to get this chappie posted and sleep before I make myself sick. And I love the Aya Yuki part too! That was probably the best part of the chapter!

**Haruko Sohma**: I like too think of Kyou and Tohru as a protective brother looking out for his sister too. Unfortunately, from what I've heard, that's not how it ends up. Oh well. We can still pretend. Aya and Yuki are always funny together. And I figured everyone would want to know why they weren't coming home, so I added that part. Turns out, it was a hit! Hmm… -plots a story about Aya trying to bond with Yuki-


	8. Morning After

**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own the FB series, or any of the characters depicted in it, I apologize in advance for anything that appears to be OOC, and I do not follow the Manga in this story._

Chapter 8: Morning After

The sun peeked over the horizon, surrounded in waves of crimson and golden sky. Kyou yawned and stretched as he lifted his torso from the couch. He crept to his room and silently as possible slid the door open, peering in at the still slumbering Kagura. He had given her his bed to use for the night, despite her insistence that she could use Yuki's room. It was the cat's way of showing he was sorry for causing her too run away, though he had masked his true purpose by yelling that if anything were to be broken or out of place in the rat's room upon Yuki and Shigure's return, he would be the one to be blamed.

He smiled some when he saw the boar sleeping there. Rarely did Kagura do anything to make him smile, but lying there so peacefully, she didn't look as though she could harm him at all, and in truth, she was quite beautiful, with her chestnut hair fanned out around her head. She had been through a lot, three days lost and alone in the woods was hard on anyone, and so long without food, he was a little surprised she hadn't transformed by the time he had found her.

He ran a hand through his hair as he remembered dinner last night. Tohru had been sure to make plenty of food, even though it was only the three of them. It had been near midnight by the time they had finally sat down to eat. Kagura had sat next to Kyou, jubilant at the fact that he might actually like her. Kyou had been barely maintaining his temper, annoyed at the fact that the boar had become so clingy.

This sleeping girl that now lay before him didn't seem at all so annoying, though. If he could convince her to give him his space, maybe they could give a relationship a shot. Kyou slid the door shut again and laughed as he made his way up to the roof. It was amusing that he was having these thoughts about his cousin, thoughts he never thought he would have had. He stretched out on the roof and closed his eyes with a sigh, basking in the early morning sun.

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The head of the family turned away from his window to face the figure who stood in the doorway. Evidently there was news regarding the situation with the boar, "Hello, Shigure."

Shigure bowed politely and sat, his legs tucked beneath him, on the floor in front of the weak but feared man, "Hello, Akito."

The young head glanced again out his window at the much less busy estate below. The search had ended; it was obvious from the less than hectic feeling in the air, "Kagura has been located, I presume."

"Yes. Kyou found her yesterday."

"I see. That disgusting creature actually joined the search?" Standing and walking slowly across the room Akito once more slid his gaze back to the dog.

"Actually, it was more as though he conducted a search of his own. He didn't have the patience to wait for ours to start." The novelist kept his gaze locked on the spot Akito had been in upon his entrance into the room.

"Oh?" Akito turned where he stood and made his way back to the window, looking out once more onto the world he rarely ventured into, "Well, now that's a surprise…it seems that vile thing has feelings for Kagura after all. It was a foolish move on his part, though." There was a long pause before Akito turned to face Shigure with a sick sarcastic smile, "What would we have done had Kyou had become lost as well?"

Shigure remained silent, he knew how Akito felt about Kyou, how most everyone felt about the boy. No answer was required for the question the family head had asked.

Akito continued to watch Shigure as he put forth his next question "At any rate, where are they now? I wish to speak to Kagura." There was another pause as he gaze once more shifted out the window, "I must make sure she is alright, after all."

"At my house." Shigure replied in quiet obligation. It was true that Akito couldn't stand Kyou, and so had not guarded the cat's love life as closely as he had the other members of the zodiac's; even going so far as too allow Kagura to pursue her one-sided relationship with him, but now that Akito knew, or at least thought, that Kyou had begun to return Kagura's feelings, there was no telling what he might do to her.

"Alone?" There was a slight snap to the head's tone as he quickly turned to face Shigure again.

"No, not alone. Tohru is with them." He knew the family's leader would take little comfort in this fact.

"Ah, Miss Honda." Akito hissed. At least with her around the two wouldn't be alone, but Akito despised that girl, especially after what had happened only a little under a week ago when she had come to see him. The head gave his final instruction as he gestured that Shigure could depart, "Well, when you get home, inform Kagura that I wish to see her before the end of the day."

"Yes, Akito," Shigure said with another polite bow as he got to his feet to leave the room.

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Kyou was still lying on the roof enjoying the warm sunlight of the morning when he heard a call that instinctively set his hair on end, "Kyyyyyyyooooooooouuuuuuu!"

After taking several deep breaths to calm himself he rolled to his feet and walked to the edge of the roof, looking down at the grey eyed girl who was smiling up at him, "Hey, Kagura."

"I thought you might be up there! Tohru and I almost have breakfast ready! Come on down!"

"I'll come down when I'm good and ready!" Just because Kyou had decided he wanted to give a relationship a chance, didn't mean he had to start taking orders from her.

"KYOU!" Her eyes glinted as she yelled up at him, causing him to cringe.

"Ok, I'm ready now!" He hurried down from the roof and she giggled.

"Yay! Let's go eat!" Kagura grabbed hold of his wrist in both hands and pulled him towards the door to the house.

"Hey! You're gonna pull my arm off!" the orange haired boy hissed as he pulled his arm away.

"Oh..." Kagura pouted some and looked down, "Kyou…I'm sorry, I guess I didn't realize-"

"Aw hell…" the cat cut her off with a sigh, "Look. We can try and, you know…give this a shot. But all this clingy crap, it has to stop."

"Oh! Ok!" Her eyes sparkled at his admission of willingness to try a relationship, and she grabbed his arm in a hug excitedly.

"H-hey! WHAT DID I JUST SAY!" His eyes narrowed as he glared at her.

The boar blinked and quickly let go, folding her arms behind her and looking at the ground. Kyou sighed and reached around taking her hand and pulling it out so he could hold it properly. Kagura blinked at him in surprise for a moment before smiling broadly.

"What?" Kyou inquired as he noticed that she seemed to have a little distant look in her surprised expression.

"Hmm? Oh…nothing." She replied with a shrug. Not yet, but maybe someday soon she could tell him about the memory that he seemed to have misplaced of their childhood, her very reason for loving him so much, "Let's go eat before breakfast gets cold."

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Yuki and the rest of the zodiacs who had remained with Hatori were waiting patiently for Shigure's return. Or in Yuki's case, not so patiently. His older brother continued to annoy him, and as hard as he may try, Yuki simply could not ignore him.

"Yuki! Oh Yuki!" Ayame called as he pursued his brother around the garden, "Yuki! I'm afraid you're walking a bit fast, I can hardly keep up!"

"That's the point, you moron." The rat replied in a low dull tone as he quickly switched directions.

The snake however was a little too quick for him, and not near as moronic as Yuki claimed, and cut off his brother's path, "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were avoiding me!"

"I am!" Yuki cried as he turned and headed back into Hatori's house, Aya once again in hot pursuit.

An arm reached out behind Yuki cutting of the serpent's path, "Perhaps you should leave him alone for a while, Ayame."

"You really think so?" Aya questioned as he turned to face Hatori, the man to whom the arm belonged.

"Yes, I do." The sea horse replied and walked off across the room, Aya skipping after him this time.

"Where is Shigure?" Yuki inquired impatiently as he looked out a window. He had never liked spending more time at the estate then he absolutely had too, for fear of a confrontation with Akito.

"Patience, brother!" Aya turned his attention once more to the rat as a sigh of exasperation escaped the doctor, "I know that you are afraid that in your absence Kyounkitchi may have made some sort of move on the princess, but believe me! She would be a foolish girl to prefer him to a prince like you! And we all know Tohru is no fool!"

"You're the fool." The younger sibling muttered.

Momiji walked out of the room where he had slept, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and Hatori looked at Aya and Yuki, "I hope you are happy, Ayame, you woke up Momiji."

"I'm Sorry!" the fashionable man's comment was aimed at Ha'ri rather than at the bunny whose sleep he had interrupted.

_Ok, that's a rather lame place to end the chapter, but I can't think of anything else to write without babbling on and on without making a point. I just wanted to add some more Yuki and Aya interaction since you all seemed to like that! Again, sorry about any OOC, and sorry about being overly paranoid about being OOC._

**Lucinda the Maid**: Haahaha! I should write a story just about the trio! Hmmm….how to handle that…

**Haruko Sohma**: You're right of course; Kagura and Akito don't have much contact…dammit! What have I gotten myself into!

**NightBlue**: She's gonna try…but old habits die hard.

**DarknessRose63**: -claps also- Yay! My story is loved!


	9. Return Home

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own FB, or any of the characters there of. I do not follow the Manga in this story._

Chapter 9: Return Home

Breakfast had gone well, Kagura and Kyou managed to get through it without any violence at all. And Tohru was thrilled to see that they seemed to be getting closer. They had eaten in near silence, not really knowing what to talk about. Though Tohru had asked how long Kagura would be staying, and to everyone's surprise, including his own, Kyou smiled upon hearing her reply that she would remain there as long as possible.

Now, having finished their morning meal Kagura offered to help Tohru with the dishes. Tohru smiled at her, "No, it's ok, Kagura. I can clean up myself. Why don't you and Kyou go for a walk or something! I'm sure the two of you would like to spend a little more time together!"

Kagura glanced at Kyou, "Would you like to go for a walk, darling?" She asked, once more using the terms of endearment she normally addressed him by.

Kyou blinked and scratched the back of his head. For once, he actually wanted to go for a walk with her, provided that she didn't pummel him along the way, "Sure, why not."

"Yay!" Kagura grinned and giggled. Tohru didn't miss the fact that Kyou seemed to smile some too.

Kyou stood and walked out onto the porch, and Kagura's grin faded slightly as she followed. She had hoped they could at least hold hands or something, after all, going for a walk was much more fun that way, and more romantic. She blinked when she stepped onto the porch and saw Kyou standing there looking at her.

"Kyou?" She questioned at the look she was receiving, to which he simply gave her a small smile and held out his hand to her.

"C'mon, Kagura." He said softly and she smiled brightly and grabbed hold of his hand. Perhaps he remembered after all, that time so long ago.

They began to walk through the woods that surrounded the property. The sun slipped between the leaves, dappling their bodies in the golden light. Kagura looked up at the leaves that shuddered slightly under a thin breeze, and Kyou sighed.

"Kagura," He started, causing her gaze to switch to him, "Look, I'm…I'm sorry I upset you, making you think that there was something between me and Tohru…"

"Kyou…it's-" But he cut her off.

"If you were really that upset though…running wasn't the answer, you should have tried to talk to me about it!"

"And you would have listened?" Kagura stopped and slipped her hand from his grasp, turning to face him completely.

Kyou rubbed the back of his head, "No. I guess I wouldn't have."

Kagura smiled and shook her head, "Then try and forget about it. And don't feel like it's your fault I ran. I'm back now, and everything is ok. I'm fine, and we are together, at last." She leaned up and kissed him softly on the cheek.

Kyou blinked at the kiss, caught off guard, and despite having been kissed by her before, he found himself blushing lightly. The cat wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug. The boar smiled and returned the embrace, laying her head against his chest.

As the afternoon approached Kagura and Kyou continued there walk around Souma House's land. Kagura was happier than she had been since she was a child, and Kyou was feeling something very unfamiliar to him, for he was experiencing the first tingling of true love.

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Shigure walked through the door of Hatori's home, looking rather down trodden. Yuki sighed in exasperation upon seeing that his older cousin had finally returned, "You took long enough." He blinked when he saw the expression on the dog's face, "What's the matter Shigure? What did Akito have to say?"

"He wants to see Kagura." The novelist glanced at Hatori, who nodded to show that he knew they should fear the worst, "Akito is not a fan of love. If Kyou has started returning Kagura's feelings, he'll want to put an end to it."

Yuki sighed and looked out the window, "I wish Akito would just leave us alone. We are human, in spite of everything; we can't help what we feel."

"Spoken quite eloquently, Yuki," Ayame chimed in.

"Akito doesn't realize that." Momiji said softly, "I don't mean that I like the way he acts, I don't mean that he's right, but…Akito must have his reasons."

Everyone turned their gazes on the small blond boy, "Momiji is right, of course." Shigure said softly.

"Yes, just because we don't agree with him, he cannot always be blamed for his own actions," Hatori spoke for the first time since Shigure had returned. The dragon crossed to a chair and sat slowly down, "The best we can do is try to help each other avoid making the same mistakes that others of our family have made where he is involved. Although, it is hard to keep things from Akito for long."

The room became near silent, for once not even Ayame spoke as they all looked to Hatori. He, out of all of them, understood Akito's wrath. He and Kana had suffered under it, Hatori more than Kana, because he could not forget. And through it all, neither of them blamed Akito.

"Well," Yuki said softly, "We should really head home, shouldn't we. After all, we are only delaying the inevitable loitering around here, as much as we may like to change what the outcome is sure to be."

There was a silent agreement as Shigure and Yuki headed towards the door. Hatori walked with them, "I'll come with you. I want to be certain Kagura wasn't harmed during her little adventure."

They departed for Souma House. The other's heading to their own homes as well. Hatori was silent, and seemed even more somber than usual. They all knew what was awaiting Kagura when she went to meat Akito.

_Ok, this chapter is done now as well, hmmm…any ideas as to what Akito should do to Kagura? Not that I promise to use them, but still, I'll take them into consideration. I hope Hatori didn't come out to awful. I'm not very confident in my ability to write him._

**Haruko Sohma**: Hmmm…well, things are sure to get violent. I'm still open to suggestions, but I was thinking more along the lines of the Hiro/Kisa incident, or the whole thing in the Manga with Rin.

**Lucinda the Maid**: They get a little more fluffy in this chapter! I liked the Yuki and Aya bit too! That line just seemed SO Yuki! And as far as the weird ending…I just didn't want people thinking Momiji vanished XD


	10. Bad News

**Author's Note: **_Wow, took me long enough to update. Sorry ya'll. I've had to do a lot of stuff, with grad parties and such. Then the 4th of July came before I knew it, and I just haven't had a chance to update, plus I have frequent writer's block._

**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own the character's of FB. I just enjoy tormenting them by putting them in these situations._

Chapter 10: Bad News

Tohru had finished the dishes and was now sitting in the living room watching the television intently. She had discovered a cooking show, and was hoping to pick up on some good recipes to try. Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, and several sets of footsteps entering, her attention turned from the television to the voices in the entrance, and one in particular that announced the return of her housemates.

"Miss Honda, we're back." Yuki walked into the living room and sat down near her, looking less than joyful, despite the safe recovery of Kagura.

As the Shigure and Hatori entered the room, each looking just as dejected as Yuki, she blinked questioningly, "What's wrong?"

"Where is Kagura?" Shigure wasted no time getting to the matter at hand.

"Oh, she's out with Kyou. They went on a walk together! They should be home soon though so don't worry about her."

"So," Looking out the window, Hatori sighed as he spoke, "He really has begun to return her feelings."

"I never would have seen it coming." Yuki's gaze fell upon the floor.

Shigure shook his head slowly in thought, speaking quietly, and "This isn't going to end well."

A confused look spread across Tohru's face as she was quickly becoming concerned, "W-what's wrong?"

"Miss Honda, Akito asked that Kagura go see him." Yuki replied, his voice slightly flat in tone.

"What!" Kyou's voice came from the entrance of the room. The group in the living room turned in unison to see the orange haired boy standing in the doorway, his hand wrapped around Kagura's.

"Akito wants Kagura to go to the main house, preferably before the end of the day." Shigure stood leaning on a wall, and looking at the cat and boar, not missing the fact that the boy wasn't hiding his affection for Kagura.

"No! No way is that bastard gonna lay a hand on her!" Kyou snapped defensively, gripping her hand tighter.

Kagura placed her free hand on Kyou's shoulder, "No, Kyou, it's ok. I'll go."

"But, Kagura, you know what he does whenever-" But the boar didn't let her love finish.

"I know; I don't care." She said softly and smiled half heartedly at him.

"But-" Kyou looked around the room; everyone was watching the couple intently. Kyou let out a low growl like sound, and turned and ran from the room, seeking refuge on his precious roof.

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Kyou sat on the roof, his hands tightly grasping his ankles as he stared at the shingles before him. His eyes were half closed in concerned thought. He let out a soft sigh and his expression saddened. He knew what happened when people in his family fell in love. It had happened to Hatori and Kana, to Haru and Rin; he had never expected it to happen to him. He had never expected to fall in love, least of all with Kagura. A sad smile crossed his face, yes, he actually loved Kagura. When she wasn't pummeling him into oblivion, she was actually quite sweet.

A soft female voice called out from the ground below, "Kyou? Are you up there?"

The cat shifted position, sitting so he could look over the edge of the roof at her, "Kagura." He said softly to himself. Then, so that she could hear, "Yeah, I'm up here."

"I'm getting ready to leave; I don't want to keep Akito waiting." She sounded rather scared, Akito, though weak and sickly, was an intimidating character.

"Kagura, I wish you wouldn't go." Kyou's voice was unusually emotional; he was deeply worried about her.

"I don't have a choice." Kagura sighed as she looked at the ground.

Kyou jumped from the roof, landing at her side. The boar looked up in surprise, she hadn't expected him to come down, when he was on his roof, he usually stayed therefore awhile, and it hadn't been more than five minutes.

"I'm coming too." His voice was determined, but Kagura knew she had to try to change his mind. As much as she would love having him at her side, having him there would only make things worse.

"Kyou, no." She shook her head, sending ripples through her chestnut hair.

"Kagura, I'm coming with you." The cat's fists were clenched at his side with determination.

"I said, NO!" Kagura shouted and pushed him to the ground, turning and running off.

Kyou climbed quickly to his feet and dashed after her. He wasn't going to let her face Akito alone.

_Ok, I already have an idea what's going to happen when Kagura meets up with Akito. This story just gets better and better! Wee! Again, sorry it took SOOO long to update._

**Darkblinds**: Sorry this update took so long.

**Promise Keeper**: Thanks you very much for your kind words, as always

**Lotus Mika**: The Kagura Kyou walk was sweet. And the Ha'ri/Kana thing makes me wanna cry too.

**Ritchan**-**san**: Wow, the best one you've read as of yet, huh? I'm very flattered. Sorry it took so long to update, but I've had writer's block. I'm glad you feel the people are all IC.

**Haruko Sohma**: Thank you for your support on my portrayal of Ha'ri. I'm never very good at writing for serious characters, and I wasn't sure if I could get him. I'm glad you liked the walk scene.

**Lucinda the Maid**: Akito is male, at least as far as the character's are concerned. Bare in mind that most of them never knew Akito was female anyway. And I haven't gotten that far in the Manga.

**NightBlue**: Well, things aren't gonna get as violent as I originally had planned, but if I say much more it'll ruin the next chappie, which I already have ready to post!


	11. Meeting Akito

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Fruits Basket. I do not follow the Manga._

Chapter 11: Meeting Akito

Akito looked at the girl sitting on the floor before him. This was the little trouble maker who had run off, the one who had actually finally convinced that disgusting cat to fall in love with her. She was truly pathetic, but the others in the family cared for her, more than they cared for him. When she ran away, they stopped everything to go and find her, if Akito died tomorrow, they'd be dancing on his grave.

Akito knew they all despised him, and it irritated him when they found they could love someone else. And this girl had forged a bond with that, that _creature_! If Akito could not be happy, why should some ill tempered, orange haired monster?

The long silence and intense gaze from Akito was making Kagura uncomfortable. She shifted in her seat, as Akito stepped towards her.

"You're back, safe and sound I see." The family head's voice dripped insincere compassion, "I'm so relieved that you were found."

Kagura sat, her legs tucked neatly beneath her. But her hands clenched in loose fists on her lap trembled, giving away her nervousness.

Akito didn't miss this small sign, and faint grin spread across his features, "And by Kyou no less, I'm sure that you were thrilled to find he cared."

"Yes." Her one word reply was barely audible.

Akito's eyes narrowed, "Still, I've never understood what you see in him. He's vile, a true monster."

Kagura looked up, tears in her eyes at hearing her Kyou insulted in such a way, she opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again in silence. Any arguing with Akito would only lead to worse than what was already in store.

"What, you have something to say, Kagura? You really think he's capable of caring for you? He's incapable of feeling."

A low frustrated growl came from Kagura, but yet she was silent. As with all the other Soumas, despite the fact that she could easily put the head of the family out of commission, she didn't even contemplate it. The family would remain loyal to him till the end.

"You can't possible really care about him. You've seen the true nature of that creature, it's disgusting." Akito stepped a little closer, quirking a brow at the silent boar, "You're being very quiet, don't you have anything to say?"

He was trying to provoke her into giving him a reason to 'punish' her. Kagura knew it; he was daring her to say something, either way she would be in trouble. If she said that she loved Kyou, she would be at the mercy of his wrath, if she said she had nothing to say, she would be a liar.

"Akito, I, I love Kyou, I don't care what form he takes. I always have and always will love him." She flinched as he stepped close to her, backhanding her roughly.

"You love him! Is that why when he was in his true form, you stayed hidden away in Shigure's house! Because you _love_ him!" Akito's eyes narrowed as he watched her tenderly touch her reddened cheek.

"Yes. I…love him." Kagura repeated her confession, knowing she was now in too deep to try and back out, "And that is why I couldn't go after him. Because, I…I thought he…"

Akito leaned in an inch from her face. So, she admitted to caring for that beast, and yet she cared nothing for the head of her family, no one cared about Akito! No one! "You thought he what? Hated you? Of course he hated you! Kyou is incapable of love! Even now he's just using you! You can't really think he loves you!"

Akito hit her again, harder this time, leaving a bruise near her eye, and causing her to let out a small cry, more from surprise than actual pain.

Suddenly there was a loud crash as the door to the room smashed in. Akito turned to see who had dared break in. When he saw who was standing there he hissed one word, "You!"

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Staying just out of her sight, Kyou followed Kagura to the main house. He slipped into the house, undetected, and found the room where she was meeting with Akito. He heard Akito speaking, heard the things that were being said regarding him, and his true form, and still managed to keep his cool, though a pained look shown in his eyes.

At the sound of the first harsh slap, he put a hand on the knob, but he knew his interference would only make things worse, and he definitely didn't want Kagura mad at him. But when she was hit the second time and he heard her cry out, he couldn't stand it anymore; he kicked in the door and stormed into the room.

"You!" Akito hissed upon seeing him.

Kagura's eyes grew wide in surprise, "Kyou! What are you doing here!"

"Like hell I was gonna stay behind and risk having you end up like Rin!" Kyou fumed. Kagura stood to walk over to Kyou, but was pushed back down by Akito. Kyou snapped, "Hey! Don't! Touch! Her!"

Akito's eyes widened at this display of rebellion. He knew Kyou was bad tempered, and therefore had never had much interaction with the boy; it wasn't worth risking his fragile health to make this ill-tempered creature miserable.

Kyou's hair was on end as he stood his ground, his crimson eyes locked onto Akito's gaze, daring him to try and hurt Kagura.

_Evil cliffy! Muwahahahah! Ok, I'm going to offer you a vote here. Here are your choices, cuz I have a few possible ways this story should go. 1) Akito could decide that rather than have to risk a confrontation he lets Kagura and Kyou leave. Not too exciting, but easier to write. 2) Kagura does something to push Akito into hitting her again, and that sends Kyou off the deep end and he fights back, and they have to flee. 3) Same as number two, except instead of fleeing Akito locks Kyou up. _

_Oh, and P.S. This isn't a choose your own adventure type thing, so I'm not in violation of the rules. I simply want some fan input into the direction of the story._

**Prettypinkpeacock**: Here's the update XD

**Lucinda the Maid**: Right, you didn't have to wait long. I just like reviews!

**Ritchan-san**: thanks! Well, you get to choose how the meeting turns out, unless of course, you vote in the minority 0.0 well, the next chappie won't be up for awhile.


	12. Fight and Flee

**Poll Results: ** _Letting go: 2 Fight and Flee: 4 Cage the Rage: 3.5 (there was a tie between the second and third options, and in order to break it I kept track of how many votes per then added the number halfway through the process to the final count, and divided by 2. Thus, the second option won.)_

**_Disclaimer_**: _I do not own FB; this story is based on the Anime, not the Manga._

Chapter 12: Fight and Flee

"Kyou, don't!" Kagura cried as she saw the dangerous look in her lover's eye. She could tell how badly he wanted to hurt Akito, but that would only make things worse for both of them, "I'm fine, don't get involved."

"You are not fine." Kyou growled, his eyes still locked onto Akito's, "He hurt you."

Kagura got to her feet, walking to Kyou's side she wrapped herself around his arm, whispering in his ear, "I don't want you in trouble too."

With a soft sigh the cat broke his gaze away from the family head and looked at the teary eyed girl clinging to his arm. He began to relax, "Fine. Let's just get out of here."

Kagura nodded, and she and Kyou began to move to the door. Akito saw the tears in the girl's eyes. She was crying, not for herself, or for the fragile family head, but for that cat! That monster! "Come back!" He snapped, grabbing hold of a curtain in his rage and ripping it from the window, "I'm not finished with you yet!"

Kyou simply glanced over his shoulder at the man. His crimson eyes were narrow, his arm draped around Kagura's waste.

"I said come back!" Akito swung the rod, with surprising force considering his weak condition, directly at Kagura's head.

Kyou moved quickly to grab the rod before it could connect with Kagura, who gasped in surprise at the assault. The orange haired boy pushed the metal pole back towards Akito, wrenching it free of the family head's grasp, and swung it at him, connecting with his gut. Akito crumpled to the floor, crying out in pain.

Kagura stared in wide eyed horror, "Kyou!" Her grey eyes darted between her love, and the family head, lying in the fetal position on the hardwood ground.

"YOU MONSTER!" Akito raged in between gasping for air, "YOU…VILE CREATURE!"

Kyou dropped the curtain rod. As often as he'd said that he didn't care what the leader of his family said, the truth was that the man held in his hands power over Kyou's freedom. He would get locked up for sure after injuring him.

Kagura reached out and grabbed Kyou around the wrist. They ran all the way through the compound, out to the forest beyond. Panting and holding their sides, the stood hidden in the trees. Kagura glanced back towards the estate, "Kyou…I have to go tell Hatori…Akito's hurt bad…"

Kyou wanted to tell her to forget it, he wanted to scream that the man deserved to die for the way he had hurt people, and instead he looked away in silence. He couldn't return, not after what he had done, he could never go back.

"You wait here. I'll meet you after I tell Hatori…" She leaned up to kiss his cheek. He turned to face her, intending to tell her that she shouldn't bother coming back for him, and their lips met. Both blushed softly as Kagura took a step back after a few seconds.

"Kagura…" He began, still wanting to insist that it would be better for her to stay behind, since he was the one who would be in trouble.

"Kyou, wait for me." She cut him off, knowing what he was thinking, and turning hurried to Hatori's.

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Hatori of course, was still at Shigure's house. They were sitting in the living room, sipping tea. Yuki and Tohru were in the kitchen, he was helping her with some cleaning. All were pondering the meeting between Kagura and Akito none had realized Kyou had followed the boar.

The phone rang suddenly and Shigure hurried to answer it. He was surprised to find it was for Hatori, "Ha'ri…it's Kagura. She's calling from your house!"

Hatori took the phone from Shigure, "Hello Kagura." His voice was somewhat confused by the fact that she would have called from his phone.

"Hatori!" She gasped into the phone, out of breath from running, "Thank goodness you were there. Akito needs you."

"He does, does he? What happened?" Even as he spoke he gestured to Shigure to retrieve his jacket.

"Umm…." Kagura hesitated, not wanting to get Kyou into trouble, but knowing that the doctor would find out soon enough the truth, "Kyou…"

Knowing the cat's short temper it didn't take long to piece the puzzle together, "He didn't…" The dragon said in an exasperated tone usually reserved for Aya and Gure.

"Look, I've got to go, Kyou's waiting for me. Don't try and find us, we'll be fine." She hung up without waiting for a response.

Hatori hung up the phone and took his jacket from Shigure, "I'm afraid the meeting didn't go well."

"Was Kagura injured?" Shigure questioned.

"Perhaps, but that's not why she called…Kyou followed her, I'm afraid, and it's Akito we have to be concerned for." Hatori voice was tired as he thought of having to deal with this new fiasco.

Shigure gasped, "Oh my! Perhaps I should accompany you. Things will be hectic for a time."

Hatori nodded, "If you like."

"Yuki! Tohru! Hatori and I are heading to the main estate." Shigure called as they reached the door.

"Why both of you?" Yuki asked poking his head from the kitchen.

"Things got rather out of hand, I'm afraid." Shigure replied.

"Is Kagura ok?" Tohru appeared in the doorway beside Yuki.

"Oh, she's fine; we can't say the same for Akito though." Shigure sighed.

"Don't tell me…that stupid cat tagged along." Yuki groaned.

Shigure nodded, "No one accused Kyou of thinking through his actions."

With that the novelist and the doctor set off for the main estate, leaving Tohru and Yuki alone to contemplate what would happen to Kyou and Kagura.

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"Oh!" Tohru cried in dismay sinking into a seat in the living room, "Poor Kyou! And Poor Akito! I hope he's not too badly injured!"

Yuki had to smile at her exclamation, it was just like her to be concerned for everyone involved, including Akito, "Yes, well, I'm sure he's fine, Miss Honda. No worse that a few bruises, maybe a fracture."

"Oh!" She gasped with a grimace at the thought of anyone enduring the pain of a broken bone.

"Relax; I'm sure it couldn't be that bad." Yuki sat beside her

"What do you think Kyou will do?" Tohru turned to her friend, tears in her eyes.

Yuki placed a hand gently over hers, "Don't worry about him, he can take care of himself. Though I don't suppose he'll be returning anytime soon." He replied honestly, with a sigh.

Tohru bit her lip to fight back tears, "Oh, Yuki! This just gets worse and worse!"

It broke Yuki's heart to see Tohru, usually so optimistic, talking like this. He wished he could hug her; offer her some kind of comfort. Instead he squeezed her hand gently.

With a sad sigh she laid hr head on his shoulder and began to cry. He gently stroked her hair, trying his best to comfort her.

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Kyou leaned against a tree, waiting for Kagura to come back, he knew he should leave, rather than put her at risk by taking her with him, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. There was a rustle in dome nearby trees and soon enough Kagura emerged.

"Hatori should be here soon. Let's go." Kagura began to walk away, not even looking back at the family estate.

"I would feel much better if you stayed behind. You don't have to be in trouble." Kyou stayed in his place against the tree.

"I'm coming, you can't change my mind." Kagura turned to face him, reaching out she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him along roughly behind her, "Let's go!"

"Fine!" Kyou tried to pull out of her grasp, "But could you let go!"

_Tada, chapter done. I hope I stayed IC with this. I still don't think I do Hatori very well. Too many people to thank individually, so, thanks to all the voters! If your choice didn't win, sorry, but I think I was pretty fair in my deciding method._


	13. On the Run

**Disclaimer**_: I do not own Fruits Basket. And I do not follow the Manga. _

Chapter 13: On the Run

Kyou and Kagura ran, not daring to look back, until they were out of breath. They collapsed into a heap at the base of a tree, panting heavily. Kyou looked at Kagura, and she looked back, neither could speak because they were so out of breath, but each knew what the other was thinking, what have we done?

They had run away from anyone who might have cared about them, they'd had no choice because of Kyou's assault on Akito.

When Kyou regained his breath he finally spoke, "You know, you really shouldn't have come."

"I wanted to." Kagura insisted, "I had to."

"No, you didn't, stupid!" Kyou snapped, "Akito's gonna find me sooner or later! If you'd just stayed behind, he might have gone easier on you; I don't even want to think about what's going to happen now!"

"Kyou!" Kagura insisted, her tone matching the edge in his, "Whatever happens, happens! I told you not to interfere anyway!"

"And I was just supposed to let him hit you!" Kyou screamed climbing to his feet and glaring down at the boar.

"At least then we wouldn't be on the run!" Kagura exclaimed.

"I said you didn't have to come!" Kyou growled, "So don't you dare blame me for your being here!"

"I don't!" She snapped, then her tone softened some, "Kyou, the fact that you cared enough to want to protect me…that means more than anything…" She looked away from him, "I mean, I've waited so long for you to care at all."

"Of course I care," Kyou said as though he were speaking to an idiot.

"Don't interrupt me!" Kagura shouted kicking him backwards into a tree.

Kyou winced and gasped, winded from the blow before yelling, "DAMMIT STOP THAT!"

Kagura went back to her sweet nature and ran over to him, "Sorry, Darling!"

Kyou glared at her, "If you're sorry then stop doing it!"

She pouted and looked so cute that he couldn't stay angry with her. He sighed and ran a hand through his orange hair, "Right…well…you were saying something?"

"I was saying," She picked up from where she had been interrupted, "That having you care is the most important thing in the world to me, but I asked you not to come with me, because I knew things would get bad…and I didn't want you in any trouble, because I love you."

"Well, to late for that lecture now, Kagura. We're both in trouble." Kyou grumbled slumping down against the tree.

Kagura sighed and sat next to him, "So, what are we going to do?"

"Hide out for a while…maybe once things die down, we go to the lake house until we can find some cheap apartment."

The boar nodded, wrapping her arms around him and laying her head on his shoulder, "Ok." She said softly, "Ok."

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Hatori sighed as he walked out of Akito's room. An anxious Shigure was standing beside the door and looked up at the doctor. The dragon shook his head and sighed again, "He has several broken ribs, and nearly missed a punctured lung. Kyou did some real damage."

"Kyou never has been one to suppress his anger." Shigure uttered as he stretched.

"That's true." Hatori agreed as he made his way to the exit, followed closely by the canine, "Akito insists that a search be launched immediately; Kyou isn't going to get off easily. In fact, he'll likely be locked away for life."

Shigure and Hatori exited Akito's house, and walked to Hatori's home, both having mixed feelings. Knowing that Akito was the head of the family, understanding why Kyou had done what he had. Neither of them could disobey Akito, nor did they think that Kyou could go unpunished for his actions, but that didn't make what Akito had done to Kagura right either.

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Yuki stood by the window. Despite his loathing of the cat, he found himself deeply concerned for his cousin's safety, and future. Although he supposed it was merely because Kagura was involved. He sighed softly and looked at the sleeping figure on the couch. Tohru's soft brown hair fell into her face as she slept, there was no sign of the worry he knew she felt.

The rat passed gracefully across the room and too the couch, brushing her hair from her cheek. Poor Tohru, always so worried about others. He couldn't help but admire her capacity for caring.

He closed his eye and uttered a quick wish for Kyou and Kagura's safety before retrieving a blanket and covering the dozing figure with it. He sat on the floor in front of the couch, and was soon asleep sitting up.

_Ok, I'm not allowed to write shout outs anymore, which totally sucks. Any of you who haven't gotten the E-mail petition, have an account on Fanfic, and want to sign the petition, let me know in your review, I'll send it to you._


	14. The Stirring of Rebellion?

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, and I'm not following the manga._

Chapter 14: The Stirring of Rebellion?

Kyou woke up and yawned as he stretched. When he went to sit up, he found that there was a gentle weight on his chest, and looking down he saw Kagura's head resting there, a few strands of her soft brown hair were stuck to the corner of her mouth. Hearing the birds chirping it registered in his mind that it was dawn, and in that instant, he knew also that they would be looking for him, and that he shouldn't have slept through the night, but should have been walking instead.

Gently he shook the boar awake, "Kagura. Hey Kagura!"

The girl let out a tired groan as she sat up, "Mmm….Kyou?"

Standing, the cat reached out a hand to help her up, "We gotta go. They'll be looking for us. We really should have been traveling last night."

Kagura took his hand and climbed to her feet, blinking against the morning light and stifling a yawn. As soon as they had gotten their bearings, they took off towards the east, not running, but keeping a speedy pace none the less.

"You know…" Kyou said suddenly as they hurried along, hand in hand, and he noticed once again a rather distant look in Kagura's eyes, "You never explained to me, why it is you care."

Kagura sighed, looking at their hands, then at her love's crimson eyes, "Kyou…" She said softly. This was the right time to tell him, she could tell, his eyes were focused on her, and he wasn't going to accept anything less than the truth, "Kyou, when we were young…when we'd play together, and you'd hold my hand…I…believed in those hands, I believed…that they could always protect me, that…we were meant to be together."

Kyou blinked and looked away. Then looked back, with a small smile on his face, "Like you really needed me to protect you."

"In the end," Kagura said with a half hearted smile of her own, "You did protect me, didn't you?"

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"He deserved it," Haru grumbled from where he stood next to Yuki. Once more a search party was gathered at the main estate. Yuki gave Haru a sympathetic look. In honesty, he half agreed with the cow. After all, Akito had made all of their lives miserable at one time or another, "After what he's done…to Hatori, to Kisa," There was a long pause before Haru continued, "To Rin. He deserved it."

Yuki sighed, "As tempted as I am to agree, it doesn't make what Kyou did any better, or smarter."

"I never said it was smart." Haru agreed, turning his attention to the dragon who was now addressing the crowd of Soumas.

"Kyou has attacked Akito…" Hatori said, "Now, he and Kagura have run away together. For their own safety, they must be found. Though I don't believe that Kyou would harm Kagura, Akito insists that he be found…" There was a pause, "And locked away, so that no more harm may be done."

Yuki and Haru looked at each other. They knew that had these not been Akito's orders, Hatori would never have issued them. Kyou may be violent, but he wouldn't harm anyone without what he imagined to be a reasonable cause.

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As was the case before, Momiji had gone to stay with Tohru, in case Kyou tried to make some sort of contact. If that were to happen, he was supposed to contact Hatori immediately and inform him. Tohru, who had just found out what fate was to befall Kyou if he were caught, sat on the couch in tears.

"M-Momiji! How can they just lock him up?" She sobbed, "I understand that what he did was wrong, but…"

"Tohru! Don't cry! They might not catch him!" Momiji offered in an attempt to comfort his friend.

"P-poor Kyou! Oh! I wi-wish I could do something!" Tohru continued to cry, her face buried in her hands, her long hair dangling around her down turned head.

"Kyou and Kagura can run really fast!" Momiji said hopefully, still trying in vain to offer her some relief from her worries, "You've seen How fast Kyou is with Kagura chasing him, and she's fast enough to catch him almost every time! I bet their already far away."

"M-maybe you're right…b-but still…I'll never see them again!"

Momiji found that he had no answer to that, and looked away, out the window.

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Haru and Yuki walked along the edge of the forest, the search had begun. It was only a matter of time before Kyou would be found and brought back.

"Yuki" Haru said softly, "Do we really have to search for them?"

"Akito's orders." Yuki said with a sigh, "All available Souma's were to join the search. And not even just the cursed ones, he's taking this seriously."

"Well, Kyou did hurt him very badly." Haru said, "Not that I haven't thought about doing the same thing myself." He admitted as he looked at another part of the group, further down the tree line, where a girl with long black hair was half heartedly searching.

The cow let out a sigh, and Yuki looked at the girl in the distance, then at Haru, "Talk to her."

"She won't let me." He grumbled, "Yuki, I don't want to do this. I don't want to help Akito…"

"What choice do we have?" The rat replied as he checked a shallow cave between some rocks.

"We could just leave…Akito can't do this to us…if he can't find us." Haru said looking up at the sky, giving up on the search.

"And where would we go?" Yuki asked, turning to face his friend.

"Anywhere…anywhere but here."

"He'd find us, you see how much effort he's using to find Kyou and Kagura…the only way to truly get away, is if the entire family were to turn on him. And that's not about to happen."

_Ok, so I know the whole hands thing isn't the real reason Kagura fell in love with Kyou, but like I said, I'm not following the Manga, so I just built of the hands comment in the anime. _


	15. The Search Goes On

_**Author's Note**: Ok, sorry this took so long. I had school stuff to worry about, plus for a while my laptop had a virus, and I couldn't really do anything. Oh, and I've updated my profile._

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Furuba, I do not follow the manga (though I have blended some Manga background with the Anime plot line to get my current story), and I do not guarantee to be IC at all times._

* * *

Chapter 15: The Search Goes On

The search parties combed the area; they had been at it all morning, and so far had found little sign of the two fugitives, at least little that they had bothered to report. A few broken twigs here and there that may have signaled the flight of the two cursed teens, but nothing more could be seen.

Haru's lazy gaze continued to linger on the horse who was searching nearby. Yuki sighed as he looked at the cow, "Haru, either go talk to her…or focus on the search. Just standing around like that isn't doing anyone any good."

To his surprise, Haru walked towards Rin after a slight nod of acknowledgement. The raven haired zodiac member turned as she felt someone approaching, her eyes wide at the sight of the cow behind her, "What do you want…"

Her tone was so blunt, and yet it cut like a knife. Just the same, Haru carried on trying to get her to talk to him in a civil manner, "To talk…we haven't done that in a while, just talked…"

"There's nothing to talk about." She said as she turned away, continuing to search, "Get back to your own group."

Yuki watched Haru and Rin a moment before continuing on his own search. He saw something in the trees…a small clue that would have been so easy to miss. A tiny blue thread stuck to a piece of tree bark. It was the same shade of blue as Kyou's sweatshirt. The rat picked the thread off the tree, and stuck it into his pocket. No one noticed as the silver haired boy himself slipped further into the forests.

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"This way," Kyou insisted as he dragged Kagura along by the hand, "Look, I hear a stream, and we should cross it. It'll make us harder to follow."

"But Kyou…that's the same stream you found me by, won't they think to search there?" Kagura replied as she tried pulling him in another direction.

"I didn't tell anyone where I found you, so why the hell would they look there? I know what I'm talking about dammit!" The cat snapped as he dropped her hand and turned to look at her. "Just standing around fighting isn't getting us anywhere!"

Chestnut hair billowed about Kagura's shoulders as she turned to face her love's hissing, bristled figure, "Well we wouldn't BE just standing around if you'd just listen to me!"

The two zodiac members stood there staring one another down; both thinking they knew best, each as stubborn as the other. Grey eyes met crimson ones, and Kagura let out a low growl, "Kyouuuu….we're going this way!"

Kyou balled his hands into stubborn fists, "Dammit Kagura! I think I know my way around the woods! I'm the one who spent four months training in the mountains! I know how to survive!"

The boar grabbed Kyou about the neck, taking him into a violent headlock, "Are you saying I'm stupid?"

"No, no!" The cat cried in distress as he struggled to free himself from her choking grasp, "Fine! We'll go your way!"

Kagura smiled at him, "Yay! You'll see, love! I know what I'm doing!"

Crimson eyes locked onto the brown haired girl from the corner of their field of vision, "You mean besides beating me to death?"

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Tohru had been keeping a steady vigil by the window of Shigure's house. She couldn't help thinking that maybe Kyou and Kagura would come back, and she would be able to help them somehow. Her brown hair was tied in pigtailed braids, and her blue eyes scanned the distance, hoping to see a speck of orange appear.

"Tohru?" A soft voice came from the small boy at her side, "You've been standing here all morning! Don't you want to sit down?"

Broken from her trance like focus, the young girl looked at the blonde, "Oh, Momiji!" She exclaimed, having nearly forgotten that he was there, "I was…I don't want to sit. What if they come? I have to be able to help them!"

A small sad smile spread over the rabbit's lips as he looked up at his older friend, "Tohru…I don't think either of them wants you to be sick with worry! If you really want to be able to help them if they show up…you should get some rest." His smile broadened into a grin as he turned to skip off, "I know! I'll make you something to eat!"

"Ah! Food! You must be starving! I completely forgot about lunch!" Tohru exclaimed as she followed the boy towards the kitchen. But Momiji held out a finger to stop her.

"Tch, tch. No, Tohru. You go sit and rest. I'll go get us some food!" He gave her a smile, "I'm worried about Kyou and Kagura too…but it won't help anyone if we don't keep cool."

With a small wink he scampered off.

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Akito sat in his bed, his cold gaze staring at the wall before him. That monster…that Kyou…not only had he defied his master, but he had brutally beaten him as well! The pain in Akito's side was immense, and it didn't help any that he had come down with a cold, and was suffering a cough.

With each hacking fit of coughing, his ribs felt as though they had been shattered all over again. His dark eye narrowed as he turned to face the sea horse who sat at his bedside, "What's taking so long, Hatori! I want them found!"

The half blind doctor turned his stoic eyes on the head, "It takes time to search…we haven't even found any leads yet." He let out a soft sigh as he caught site of Akito's angered expression, "You need to stop worrying…you'll only make yourself worse."

The dragon reached over to the table where he had set various bottles of pills, among them some sleeping pills and pain killers. He retrieved a bottle of sleep aids, taking out a small dosage, and handed the medicine to the pained head. Akito looked from the pills to his doctor before downing the medications swiftly.

"Now," Hatori said from his seat as he watched Akito carefully, "Get some rest."

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_And, another chapter finished. I hope you all like it…I skipped doing some very important homework…cuz once I got started on these fics; I wanted to update all of them! 00 moves on to her Inu Yasha fic next_


	16. Risky Love

_Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, and I do not claim that the characters are IC at all times within the story. Flames may be shot right back at the senders; causing their computers to explode…do you really want to risk that? Constructive criticism please!_

_A/N: This chapter focuses more on the relationships of the other characters and how they are affected by Kyou and Kagura's bold move._

Chapter 16: Risky Love

Hatsuharu was tired of the constant cold shoulder from Rin. Ever since she'd broken up with him she'd been avoiding him, and treating him in an icy manner should their paths cross. But the cow knew that Isuzu loved him, she had to. Somewhere deep inside she cared. Why was she treating him like this?

Gentle grey eyes shifted to the sky, rain clouds had formed there since that morning. His orange haired cousin raced across his mind. Kagura had been so persistent in her pursuit of Kyou, and finally the cat had caved. Perhaps Haru merely needed to show the same persistence in his efforts to win back Rin. When his gaze returned from its examination of the clouds, he noticed dark, distant eyes on him. The horse was casting a sad look in his direction.

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Dark eyes focused on the pensive face, ears studded with piercings, hair a distinct two toned hue. Isuzu blinked and looked away, Haru's grey eyes having suddenly met her own. She couldn't let him know she still cared…it was for his own good. They couldn't be together. None of the Souma's could be allowed to love until the curse was broken. Kyou and Kagura were idiots, running off. They would be found, and punished.

But, what if they weren't? What if they somehow managed to escape? She shot a sideways glance towards Haru once again. Was it a risk worth taking? Was it possible, even slightly, that running away with her beloved would save them both? She shook her head clear of the foolish thoughts. Fleeing the family would lead not to salvation, but to misery.

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Akito had drifted off to sleep with the help of the medications Hatori had prescribed. The doctor looked at the dozing family head. In his sleep the man looked so peaceful, so frail. It was hard to imagine him hurting anyone. But Akito was viciously jealous. The memory of Tohru's visit to the main house was still all too vivid. The poor innocent girl had been tossed about by her hair, all for attempting to make Akito feel loved, accepted. She had already helped so many of the Souma's, Hatori included.

His eyes, hardened from years as the gateway to a frozen heart, slid shut. Tohru bore a remarkable resemblance to Kana, it was true. Both of them viewed the world with the same child-like innocence. The doctor sighed softly, opening his gaze, watching the rain through the window.

In a manner of speaking, the whole situation could have been prevented by the dragon. If he had placed more insistence on Tohru's leaving, then Kagura would never have become jealous and run away to begin with. But he had allowed the warm glow of Tohru's optimistic attitude, and her uncanny resemblance to Kana, melt his frozen heart.

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Violet hues scanned the cloudy sky. Hopefully Kyou and Kagura had covered enough ground the night before. Yuki leaned against a tree, he had ventured far enough into the woods that he was now out of view. Rain coated his pale face, running down his cheeks, gathering into large droplets at his chin before dropping to the ground. The rat knew the negative effect the rain had on the cat. Kyou and Kagura would likely not cover nearly as much ground in this weather. True, Kagura could carry the orange haired boy, but even the boar had only so much stamina.

Yuki's grey hair clung against his face. His hand slid into his pocket, gently rolling the blue thread he had found into a ball between two off his slender fingers. The cat was stupid for attacking Akito, for running away. But perhaps Kyou had the right idea. Perhaps it was time to stand against the head…the god of the zodiac.

If Kyou and Kagura got safely away, then there might be hope for the rest of the Soumas. Hope for Haru and Rin, for Kisa and Hiro, for himself and…

The rat had made up his mind. He glanced over his shoulder to be certain he wasn't being watched, and then took off into the woods. He would have to find Kagura and Kyou on his own. He would have to help them. Yuki knew he couldn't live his whole life in fear of Akito, of his mother. He had his own life, his own dreams, and helping the stupid cat may be the only way to start to make his dreams come true.

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A song, sung softly in German, came drifting through the halls of Shigure's home. Momiji had insisted upon doing the dishes, and any other chores he could find, so that Tohru could get some rest. He closed his eyes as he sang happily to himself. He was worried about Kyou and Kagura, true, but he had to act strong, for Tohru. He wanted her to be happy, not worried.

He finished scrubbing the last dish and set it aside before walking back to the living room where Tohru was once more sitting by the window. A slight frown formed upon Momiji's face. He hated to see Tohru unhappy, he wanted always for her to smile.

He bounced over to the brunette, forcing a smile upon his face, "Tohruuuu! I finished all the dishes!"

As she turned to face him, he spotted the gleam of tears as they coursed her way down her cheeks. His smile faltered as he blinked wide eyed at the girl, "Tohru! Nein! No tears!"

A small hand reached out to wipe away the shining trails of water. He wanted to see her smile…her beautiful smile.

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"Tohru! Nein! No tears!" Momiji scolded gently as Tohru sniffled, turning to face him. Her heart was tight in her chest. The sky had turned a mournful grey, and water fell from the sky.

"Momiji…" She sniffled once more, wiping at her eyes, "I'm sorry…I k-know I shouldn't…but…" She shouldn't be crying in front of Momiji, if he could smile through this…when Kyou and Kagura were his cousins, she should too, "You know how Kyou is when it rains…this is going to slow them down! What if they get caught?"

The sunny haired boy shook his head, "They won't. Kagura can carry Kyou!"

Tohru smiled faintly, nodding, "You're right…"

Momiji was such a sweet young boy. She was so lucky to have a friend like him to cheer her up, and ease her mind.

_A/N: And that's the end of another chapter. I hope you liked it, no Kyou/Kagura in this one, but they don't have to be i_


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